Metallic railway-tie.



PATENTED NOV. 8, 1904.

C. F.'LUPKIN.

METALLIC RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

Chaunag u WM 47 mu i3 Patented November 8, 1904.

FFICFO OHAUNCEY F. LUFKIN, OF LIMA, OHIO.

METALLIC RAILWAY-TIE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 774,484, dated November 8, 1904.

Application filed ii'oveniber 1, 1902. Serial No, 129,707. (No model.)

T0 ctZ-Z 10/1/0772, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAUNOEY F. LUFKIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lima, in the county of Allen and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railway-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to that class of metallic railway-ties having the form of a trough or channel.

It has been found in practical railway construction that the greatest durability and safety is obtained by making the road-bed as solid or rigid as possible and that any construction which is elastic or allows the. rails to yield under the pressureof the trains causes the same to vibrate, which is not only unpleasant for the passengers, but also increases the danger of accidents. Furthermore. the ties which permit of building a solid road-bed should be of such construction that the cost is not prohibitive of their use, that the same are capable of being tamped for ballasting the road-bed as readily and thoroughly as ordinary wooden ties, and that the same can be handled by the class of workmen now commonly employed for that purpose. The construction of metallic ties as heretofore proposed has been objectionable on account of the large number of parts, the difiiculty of being properly tamped, the lack of a rigid and durable support for the rail, and the cost of manufacturing, equipping, and maintaining the railway.

The object of this invention is to produce a metallic tie for railways which possesses all of the desirable features and avoids the undesirable features mentioned.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of several of my improved metallic ties and a rail mounted thereon. Figs. 2 and 3 are detached perspective views of my improved tie-body and rail-holder and the blank from which the same is made. Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical cross-sections in lines 4 4 and 5 5, Fig. 6. Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary horizontal sections in lines 6 6 and 7 7, Fig. 4, respectively. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of my improved railway-tie and a rail supported thereon. Fig. 9 is a vertical longitudinal section of the tie in line 9 9, Fig. 4.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews.

The body A of the tie has the form of a trough or channel, which is provided at opposite longitudinal edges with outwardly-projecting horizontal flanges a. WVhen in use, the convex under side of the tie-body is embedded in the ground, and its concave or hollow side faces upwardly, while its flanges a rest horizontally on the adjacent surface of the ground. The sides of the tie-body are so shaped that the under side of the body narrows downwardly. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the tie-body is semicylindrical, or nearly so, in cross-section, while in Fig. 10 the body has downwardly-tapering sides and a roundedbottom.

The interior of the tie is preferably left unobstructed, so that the same serves as a drain for conducting all surface water away from the road-bed. In order to prevent the tie from creeping lengthwise, the same is provided with transverse corrugations, ribs, or beads b, which embed themselves in the ground and effectually prevent longitudinal displacement of the tie in the ground. These corrugations extend from the top of opposite sides of the tie-body downwardly and vanish near the longitudinal center or bottom of the tie, leaving a smooth or uncorrugated surface 6 lengthwise in the bottom of the body, which permits the Water to flow freely through the same instead of remaining in the tie and rusting the same, which otherwise would be the case if the corrugations extended around the entire body of the tie.

The longitudinal edges of the tie-body are connected transversely by rigid anchor trusses or holders, which also serve as means for supporting the rail A on the tie. Each of these holders preferably consists of a horizontal tieplate D, which rests transversely on the flanges of the tie-body and is provided at opposite ends with transverse lips'cZ, which are bent downwardly and inwardly against the under side of the tie-flanges for fastening the plate to the tie. In order to prevent the tie-plate from moving lengthwise on the tie-body, the

flanges of the latter are provided with recesses or seats d, which receive the lips (Z and whereby the tie-plate and tie-body are securely interlocked and held against displacement with reference to each other.

The rails rest lengthwise on the tie-plates and may be centered thereon and secured thereto in any suitable manner. The preferred means for centering the rails on the tie-plate consists of two upwardly-projecting gaging or centering flanges E E, arranged on opposite sides of each tie-plate and confining the base of the rail between them. By thus interlocking the tie-plate with the tie-body and providing the same with centering-flanges between which the rail is seated a positive and uniform gage for the rails is formed which is absolutely correct at all times and permits of laying the rails accurately without necessitating any measuring on the ground for this pur pose. The corners of the centering-flanges form fastening ears or lugs c e, which are bent inwardly over the base of the rail. The centering-flanges effectually prevent the rail from moving laterally on the tie plate and body, and the fastening-ears prevent the rail from rising.

In order to prevent the sides of the tie-body from being bent inwardly by excessive tam ping, the tie-plate is preferably provided on opposite longitudinal sides with holding-ears a, which are bent downwardly against the in ner side of the body, as shown in Fig. at. Spreading of the sides is thus prevented by the lips (Z, and contracting of the same is prevented by the ears 0, producing a perfectlyrigid connection between the sides of the tiebody at the top thereof and enabling the same to effectually resist any destructive strains either outwardly or inwardly.

The tie-plate and the means for attaching the same to the tie-body and rail are preferably formed out of a single rectangular blank of metal which is provided on opposite sides near opposite ends with transverse slits or notches f, as shown in Fig. 3. The ends of this blank form the lips (Z, which engage against the under side of the flanges on the tie-body. Those portions of its side edges between the notehesfform the centering-flanges E, which confine the base of the rail on the tie-plate, those portions of the blank on the outer side of its notches f form the ears 0, which engage against the inner side of the tiebody, and those portions of the centeringflanges on the inner sides of the notches f form the ears (2, which engage over the base of the rail. The holders are preferably secured to the tiebody before the same are delivered for use, so that the tie is complete and ready to immediately receive the rails without any further preparation.

It will be observed that the tie and the means for attaching the rails thereto are permanently united, forming, practically, one

piece, whereby misplacing and loss of parts incident to the use of separate fastenings is avoided.

In constructing a railway with my improved ties the tie-plates and the centering-flanges of the several ties when placed side by side on the ground form a practically continuous channel, as shown in Fig. 1, in which the rails may be placed and held. sufiieiently secure to permit a construction-train to run on the same before the ears 0 on the centering-flanges have been turned over the base of the rails, thereby enabling the construction of a railway to proceed much faster by the use of my improved tie and rail holder than has been possible heretofore. The fastening-ears a can be easily bent over the base of the rail and against the inner side of the body by a hammer, thereby dispensing with the use of wrenches or other tools which are necessary when screw nuts or bolts are employed for this purpose. As the weight of the car presses down on the anchor-trusses or tie-plates and the tie-body the sides of the latter will have a tendency to spread; but owing to the interlocking tie-plate, which holds it rigidly in place, the greater the load the more rigid the tie becomes, and thus the tie is compelled to sink bodily into the ground, if it moves at all, under the pressure. Ties which have vertical sides or are wider at the bottom than at the top will cleave away from the ballast in case of settling, and thus leave a space or opening between the earth and the tie for water to find its way under the tie, which softens the roadbed and is frequently the cause of serious accidents. The peculiar construction of my tie not only produces a firm road-bed, but makes it practically self-tamping after it has once been put in place, because the tie tends to embed itself firmer in the ground and compact the same as the pressure of the load on the tie increases.

Owing to the rigid connection between the sides of my improved tie the ballast always remains in contact with the entire outer surface thereof, whereby the strains are distributed uniformly over the entire tie, and its stability is greatly increased. Any tie which is loose in the ballast must depend wholly upon the strength of the metal which it contains, and therefore must be made heavier than one which seats firmly in the ground.

When it becomes necessary to raise my improved ties, earth may readily be tamped underneath the same owing to the convex side of the tie-body sloping from the top to the bottom, whereby it is possible to wedge or crowd the earth underneath the entire lower surface of the tie-body and form a firm and solid bed for the same, securing a smooth and uniform grade. The present method of tamping wooden ties and leveling the track has been developed by long experience, and any metallic tie should be susceptible of handling in the same manner, so that the same workmen can lay one as readily as the other without the aid of mechanics or machinists.

I prefer to employ a tie-body which is substantially semicylindrical in cross-section, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, because this form possesses the greatest strength and offers the greatest resistance for the amount of metal used. If desired, however, the body may have downwardly-converging sides connected by a rounded bottom, as shown in Fig. 10.

I claim as my invention 1. A metallic railway-tie having a troughshaped body of semicylindrical cross-section and provided on opposite sides with transverse corrugations while its bottom is uncorrugated, and outwardly-projecting flanges arranged on the longitudinal edges of the body, substantially as set forth.

2. A metallic railway-tie having a troughshaped body and longitudinal flanges projecting outwardly from the body, and a rail-holder comprising a plate resting on the flanges of the tie and having flanges at its sides which are constructed to receive the base of the rail between them, and ears at its ends which are adapted to be bent around said tie-flanges and against theunder side thereof, substantially as set forth.

3. A metallic railway-tie consisting of a trough-shaped body, a tie-plate connecting the longitudinal edges of the body and adapted to support a rail, flanges arranged on said plate site sides of the plate and constructed to receive the base of the rail between them, and ears arranged at the ends of said flanges and constructed to be bent inwardly over the base of the rail, substantially as set forth.

5. A metallic railway-tie and rail-holder consisting of a plate, downwardly-projecting ears arranged at the ends of the plate and constructed to engage with the tie, upwardly-projecting flanges arranged lengthwise on opposite sides of the plate and constructed to receive the base of the rail between them, ears arranged at the ends of said flanges and constructed to be bent inwardly over the base of the rail, and ears arranged on the plate and constructed to be bent against the inner side of the tie-body, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 29th day of October, 1902.

OHAUNCEY F. LUFKIN.

Witnesses:

THEO. L. Porr, EMMA M. GRAHAM. 

